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In Woodburn, a 10-foot concrete wall separates a new farmworker housing project from the adjoining neighborhood.

Emily Breidenbach, project manager for , envisioned a vinyl fence no more than perhaps 6 feet tall that would preserve trees and let flowers be planted.

No thanks, neighbors said. They want the concrete wall.

FHDC’s leaders asked for a variance, but it was denied this month by the Woodburn Planning Commission.

鈥淚 really trust our city’s decision,鈥� Woodburn resident Deborah Higginbotham said. 鈥淚 know when they proposed it years ago, (people at) the city council meetings weren’t happy about increased traffic.鈥�

There might have been other concerns.

Higginbotham’s neighbor Gary Kosikowski said Woodburn has too many migrant farmworkers who don’t contribute to the local tax base.

鈥淚t’s transient housing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese people are not staying. They’re not buying houses. However, we still have to educate them.鈥�

But Breidenbach said annual turnover for FHDC apartments is less than 2 percent.

鈥淲hen families move in, they don’t move out,鈥� she said.

Residents are generally not migratory workers, she added. They are settled in the community. At least one member of the household must have a full-time job and taxable income, she said.

Farmworker housing is a necessity in an area with an economy dependent on labor-intensive crops, Breidenbach said.

鈥淚f we didn’t have affordable housing, we’d be paying $5 for tomatoes,鈥� she said.

Kosikowski said his problem is not with FHDC specifically.

鈥淭hey seem to be doing it right,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s an incredibly clean site and very well maintained.鈥�

His problem is with Woodburn’s large migrant population in general.

鈥淵ou’re not going to build a tax base by building more migrant housing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese people are not becoming American citizens. They’re not speaking English because they don’t have to speak English.鈥�

Whichever sentiments may be in play, Woodburn building codes require a concrete wall to minimize construction noise when a building project abuts a residential neighborhood, said Jim Hendryx, Woodburn’s economic and development services director.

Aside from the wall issue, Hendryx said he hasn’t heard any negative reaction from the community about 90 additional units of farmworker housing going in near Oregon Route 214.

The FHDC started its effort amid controversy in 1990. The site was originally slated for development as Grace Village, a high-end retirement community. Through a series of financial mishaps, that project fell through.

Local organizations that serve the Hispanic community 鈥� including , and farmworkers union (Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste 鈥� or Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United) 鈥� rallied around the idea of creating affordable farmworker housing.

鈥淲e were treating farmworkers and their families for all sorts of health issues at the clinic, but were not able to reach what was often the core of the problem 鈥� the wretched conditions in which they were forced to live,” said Jose Alberto Nunez, the executive director of Salud Medical Center at the time.

鈥淭o really address health, we had to address housing,鈥� he said.

Nunez, drawing on his experience as a banker, helped secure financing for the new corporation’s first housing project. Nuevo Amanecer took in 50 farmworker families in 1994. There was some opposition from the town’s Anglo residents, especially those in the upscale Tukwila subdivision.

鈥淎 lot of people didn’t want to see Hispanic farmworkers and their families in such a prominent location in the community,鈥� Nunez said. 鈥淭hose same neighbors wanted a fence when we started the project.鈥�

Kosikowski says he welcomes the Hispanic culture in Woodburn, adding he would like to see a Hispanic Cultural Center at Chemeketa Community College. Yet he said Woodburn’s Hispanic residents need to do more to contribute to local politics.

鈥淚f you are Hispanic and you happened to have been born here, you need to step up,鈥� he said.

Woodburn resident Kay McEwen was born in Louisiana but grew up in Woodburn while it was still a predominantly Anglo community.

鈥淚t feels odd to re-experience what feels like segregation or barrios to me,鈥� she said in an email. 鈥淧erhaps it doesn’t feel that way to the Hispanic population, since in Mexico they’re so homogeneous. Everybody speaks Spanish.鈥�

This is no longer the town she knew as a child, McEwen said.

鈥淚t has been taken over by adverse possession,鈥� she said in reference to a real estate principle where property is transferred by unorthodox means such as occupation.

鈥淭imes change,鈥� Nunez said. 鈥淭he Hispanics who originally settled Los Angeles probably didn’t like it when their city went through certain cultural changes.鈥�

Ground was broken in June on this latest housing, with completion scheduled for next spring. Nunez is pleased with how the dream of affordable farmworker housing has become a reality.

鈥淪ad to say we have not changed the world, but it’s good to know we helped a little bit,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he farmworkers who live and work in Woodburn are human beings, not farm implements. These housing projects have affirmed their most basic human right 鈥� to be regarded as people who deserve clean, decent, affordable housing.鈥�

Editor’s note: While working as the editor of the Woodburn Independent in 1990, Tom Henderson served on the board of directors of Salud Medical Center and voted in favor of the clinic’s initial partnership in the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation.